Helgi Hundingsbane
Encyclopedia
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s. Helgi appears in Volsunga saga
Volsunga saga
The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...
and in two lays in the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
named Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
Völsungakviða, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I or the First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda...
and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II
Völsungakviða in forna, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II or the Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is an Old Norse poem found in the Poetic Edda...
. The Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
relates that Helgi and his mistress Sigrún
Sigrún
Sigrún is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, in the Poetic Edda...
were Helgi Hjörvarðsson and Sváva of the Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar is a poem collected in the Poetic Edda, found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and precedes Helgakviða Hundingsbana II...
reborn
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. They were once again reborn as Helgi Haddingjaskati
Helgi Haddingjaskati
Helgi Haddingjaskati meaning "Helgi the lord of the Haddingjar" was a legendary Norse hero of which only fragmentary accounts survive.It is said in the end section of Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, a part of the Poetic Edda, that the hero Helgi Hundingsbane and his lover Sigrún were reincarned as...
and Kára
Kára
In Norse mythology, Kára is a valkyrie. Kára is attested in the prose epilogue of the Poetic Edda poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II. The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, that people could be reincarnated," and that the deceased...
whose story survives as a part of the Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar or The Saga of Hromund Gripsson is a legendary saga from Iceland. The original version has been lost, but its content has been preserved in the rímur of Hrómundr Gripsson published in Fernir forníslenzkar rímnaflokkar...
.
Earning his name and meeting a Valkyrie
Helgi appears to be the son of SigmundSigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
and Borghild
Borghild
In Norse mythology, Borghild was the first wife of Sigmund. She bore him two sons, Hamund and Helgi.She is the personification of the evening mist, or perhaps the moon, who kills the light of day.- Volsungasaga:...
, and only fifteen years old he avenges his father by slaying Hunding
Hundings
The Hundings are a legendary tribe or clan in early Germanic sources, mostly mentioned due to their feud with the Wulfings . In the Poetic Edda, Hunding is a king of the Saxons, slain by Helgi Hundingsbane. The Gesta Danorum mentions a Danish king Helgo who slew Hundingus, king of Saxony, in...
, the king of the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
. This gives him the cognomen Hunding's bane. He continues with his warlike feats and one day, as he stands aboard his longship, he is visited by a valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
named Sigrún
Sigrún
Sigrún is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, in the Poetic Edda...
, who can ride through the air and over the sea and who knows well about his feats. She embraces him and kisses him, and he immediately falls in love with her.
Battle
However, her father king Högne
Högne
For other people named Högne, see Haguna.Högne was a king of Östergötland who appears in sources Norse mythology.-Heimskringla:Snorri Sturluson wrote that he was the king of Östergötland and that he had a son named Hildur and daughter Hilda who was married to Granmar, the king of Södermanland...
of Östergötland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
has promised her to Hothbrodd
Hothbrodd
Hothbrodd was a legendary Norse hero, details of whose life appear in several related variations.In the legends of the Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane, he was the son of king Granmar of Södermanland, and he was killed by Helgi....
, the son of king Granmar
Granmar
Granmar was a king of Södermanland, in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. The same king also appears in the Volsunga saga.Granmar was married to Hilda, the daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and his son-in-law was the seaking Hjörvard of the Ylfings...
of Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
. Helgi collects a force at Brandey (probably modern Brändholmen/Brändö, 58°36′N 16°50′E, at the estuary of the bay of Bråviken
Bråviken
Bråviken is a bay of the Baltic sea that is located near Norrköping in Östergötland, Sweden....
, until 1813 named Brandö, the modern Swedish form of Brandey) and goes to Granmarr's kingdom. It is retold in detail about the gathering of the forces and of how, in a great battle, Helgi and his brother Sinfjötli
Sinfjötli
Sinfjötli or Fitela in Norse mythology was born out of the incestuous relationship between Sigmund and his sister Signy...
fight with Högne
Högne
For other people named Högne, see Haguna.Högne was a king of Östergötland who appears in sources Norse mythology.-Heimskringla:Snorri Sturluson wrote that he was the king of Östergötland and that he had a son named Hildur and daughter Hilda who was married to Granmar, the king of Södermanland...
, his son Dag
Dag
-Places:*Dág , a village*Dąg, a village in Poland*DAG, the British National Rail station code for Dalgety Bay railway station, Scotland*DAG, the IATA code for Barstow-Daggett Airport, California, USA...
, Granmar
Granmar
Granmar was a king of Södermanland, in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla. The same king also appears in the Volsunga saga.Granmar was married to Hilda, the daughter of the Geatish king Högne of East Götaland, and his son-in-law was the seaking Hjörvard of the Ylfings...
and all of Granmar's sons Hothbrodd
Hothbrodd
Hothbrodd was a legendary Norse hero, details of whose life appear in several related variations.In the legends of the Ylfing Helgi Hundingsbane, he was the son of king Granmar of Södermanland, and he was killed by Helgi....
, Starkad
Starkad
Starkad, Old Norse: Starkaðr or Störkuðr, Latin: Starcaterus, and during the late Middle Ages, also known as Starkodder, was a legendary hero in Norse mythology....
and Gudmund. Everyone dies but Helgi, Sinfjötli and Högne's youngest son Dag. Sigrún bids an angry farewell to the dying Hothbrodd and cries with happiness when she learns that her whole family is dead but Dag, who swears allegiance to Helgi.
Death
Sigrún and Helgi marry and they have several sons. Dag is, however, tormented by the fact that honour demands that he avenge his father. Somehow, OdinOdin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
lends him a spear, and he dutifully pierces Helgi with it. Then he goes to Sigrún to give his condolences, which makes her curse him:
- The wind would stop every time he entered a ship.
- The fastest horse would not carry him if he is hunted.
- His sword would wound no one but himself.
She tells Dag to flee into the woods and to thenceforth live on carrion. Then she buries Helgi in a barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
, but Helgi's soul is already in Valhalla
Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
, where Odin tells him to make himself comfortable. Helgi gladly obeys and orders Hunding to feed the pigs, to wash the einherjar
Einherjar
In Norse mythology, the einherjar are those that have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead by valkyries...
s' feet and to do other menial chores.
Burial mound reunion
Before day breaks, Helgi has to return to Valhalla. Sigrún returns home and spends the rest of her life waiting in vain for Helgi to return to his barrow one more time.
Comments
Helgi is attributed to two different genealogies in the sagas. He is described as an Ylfing (the Wylfings of BeowulfBeowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
) in several places, but also as a Völsung
Volsung
In Norse mythology, Völsung was the son of Rerir and the eponymous ancestor of the ill-fortuned Völsung clan , including the greatest of Norse heroes, Sigurð...
since he is described as the son of Sigmund
Sigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
and Borghild
Borghild
In Norse mythology, Borghild was the first wife of Sigmund. She bore him two sons, Hamund and Helgi.She is the personification of the evening mist, or perhaps the moon, who kills the light of day.- Volsungasaga:...
and the brother of Sinfjotle and Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
. This is probably due to a merger between the legend of the Völsungs and an earlier legend of Helgi Hundingsbane.
Both Högne
Högne
For other people named Högne, see Haguna.Högne was a king of Östergötland who appears in sources Norse mythology.-Heimskringla:Snorri Sturluson wrote that he was the king of Östergötland and that he had a son named Hildur and daughter Hilda who was married to Granmar, the king of Södermanland...
and Helgi are described as kings of East Götaland, which may seem to be a contradiction. However, in the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
we learn that Högne was the father-in-law of the Ylfing Hjörvard
Hjörvard
Hjörvard was the name of several characters in Norse mythology.#Hjörvard Ylfing, see Granmar.#Hjörvard, who rebelled against Hrólf Kraki and killed him, see Heoroweard#Hjörvard, the son of Arngrim.#Hervor's name as a shieldmaiden....
. Since both are Ylfings or married into the clan, the battle between Helgi and Högne was apparently a civil war. The existence of a civil war may explain why Hjörvard was a sea-king
Sea-King
A Sea King was the Viking name for a powerful pirate chieftain.They could be actual kings of Sweden , Denmark or a Norwegian kingdom, and sons of kings, such as Refil, but they could also be men "without roof" like Hjörvard the Ylfing.In the Norse sagas, such men without roof could be so powerful...
, a man without roof, despite being described by Sögubrot as a former ruler of East Götaland. If so, the legends may be based on a civil war where Högne had usurped the throne from Hjörvard, but was killed by Hjörvard's kinsman Helgi.
The Völsung origin is most likely a later addition, since the legends of Sigurd describe events in the 5th century and those of Helgi describe events in the 7th century. Moreover, in the 7th or 8th century poem Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, the legends of Sigmund were already known.
Locations
Halga
Halga, Helgi, Helghe or Helgo was a legendary Danish king living in the early 6th century. His name would in his own language have been *Hailaga ....
, as he claims that Helgi killed a Swedish king named Hunding. Hothbrodd was made a Swedish king and given Ohthere
Ohthere
Ohthere, Ohtere , Óttarr, Óttarr vendilkráka or Ottar Vendelkråka was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived during the 6th century and belonged to the house of Scylfings...
's position in the line. Because of this the Danish scholar Bugge tried, in 1896, to connect him to the Skjöldung Helgi.
Due to this modification, Helgi's residence Hringstaðir is occasionally interpreted as the Danish Ringsted
Ringsted
Ringsted, a city in Ringsted municipality, is in the middle of the Danish island of Zealand. The municipal population is about 31,000 and the city population is 21,151 .Ringsted is approximately 60 km from Copenhagen.-Modern hotspot:...
. Others have remarked that, in the Norse saga
Norse saga
The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s the Ylfings are never called Danish, and the only territory that they are said to have ruled is East Götaland. In the first poem (Helgakviða Hundingsbana I), Sinfjotle has his residence on the Bravellir
Brávellir
Brávellir or Bråvalla was the name of the central plain of Östergötland , in Norse mythology....
(the plain west of Bråviken in East Götaland, see Battle of Bråvalla) and Helgi resides at Hringstaðir (probably modern Ringstad, an old royal estate on the same plain existing well before, and during, the 7th century).
Moreover, in the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
, their enemy Granmar (the father of Hothbrodd) was the king of Södermanland, which is adjacent to East Götaland, and not of Sweden.
Secondary sources
- Henrikson, A. Den stora mytologiska uppslagsboken, 1998.
- Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925.